WHY THIS FILM? WHY NOW?

Imagine you accidentally spill a pot of boiling hot water on yourself and suffer third degree burns. You
go
to the emergency room in desperate need of treatment, but the staff there doubts you’re even hurt. They
leave you in the waiting room, in excruciating pain, while people with less severe issues continue to
cycle
through ahead of you. In agony, you have to somehow convince them of the treatment you need.

Sadly, many people with Sickle Cell don’t have to imagine a scenario like that. While a Sickle Cell
crisis
is extremely painful, it can be invisible — which often perpetuates the stigma that those
with the disease are drug seekers — consequently causing many care providers to undercut the pain
medication that can help a patient get through an attack.

The goal of Spilled Milk is to raise awareness about the disease through the lens of a close
friendship and to take steps towards eliminating that stigma. A little informed perspective in the hands
of
a caregiver can go a long way.

WHY THE TITLE "SPILLED MILK"?

Omar is someone that Jaqai has always held in high esteem. He’s an extremely intelligent guy. He’s an
even-tempered guy. He’s a funny guy. He has penmanship that most anyone would envy. His advice and
perspective have guided Jaqai through countless personal challenges both big and small. And despite all
of
that, despite the good that Omar has brought to his life and to others around him, Jaqai has wasted time
resenting the disease for being in the way of all he could have accomplished and all that he could have
become. You can cry over spilled milk or embrace what you have. Spilled Milk is our reminder of that and
is the title that Omar and Jaqai arrived at together.